<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Sweet Tea in the Summer by ikknowplaces</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27085873">Sweet Tea in the Summer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikknowplaces/pseuds/ikknowplaces'>ikknowplaces</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cute Kids, Domestic Bliss, F/F, Fluff, Kid Fic, Married Couple, Minor Character(s), Pre-Canon, Teaching, Traditions, baby janai and khessa is everything i ever wanted, gift!!, lil janai and her curls i wanna cry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 02:34:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,133</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27085873</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikknowplaces/pseuds/ikknowplaces</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Aditi and her royal mage, Kami, teach Khessa and Janai about the golden markings</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aditi/Kami (The Dragon Prince), Aditi/Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sweet Tea in the Summer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>"i need to take a break from writing" i say, posting two fics in two days. anyway i'm back! i was quite sick this week but i'm all better now. this is a very special fic because it's a gift for a good friend, whose company i've been really enjoying lately. they asked me to write this wonderful idea, and it turned out to be pretty great, i really love it, so i wanna thank them for the opportunity and i hope they'll like it as much as i do!</p>
<p>as always, if you wanna support my works, check out <a href="https://queenjanaikofi.carrd.co/">this link</a>. the title is taken from seven by taylor swift, which is an incredible song you should all listen to</p>
<p>i hope you'll like this!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
<p>
  <em>And though I can't recall your face</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I still got love for you</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Your braids like a pattern</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Love you to the moon and to Saturn</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Passed down like folk songs</em>
  <br/>
  <em>The love lasts so long</em>
</p>
<p>Queen Aditi sat in her guest room, sipping from a freshly brewed cup of tea, as light came from the window behind her. It was a guest room by name, but could be as simply be called her study; it was closer to her quarters, more spacious than her real office, had two large bookcases covering the back wall, and a welcoming feeling in it. What made it more inviting to a drink rather than signing papers were the twin armchairs, the low table between them, and a cabinet full of wine glasses.</p>
<p>As she savored on the sweetness of the tea, a thought came to her. "Can you believe the baker from yesterday?" She raised the question to her wife, sitting in front of her. At the weekly audience, a baker had decided to come to the court, claiming that a new bakery opened purposely on the other side of his street, and that the owner was stealing his recipes, which resulted in a great loss of income.</p>
<p>Kami scoffed, and rolled her eyes. "It took all that I had not to burst into laughter." And it did. Aditi had glanced at her as she stood by the throne, and could see the playful glitter behind her wife's eyes. She always had a touch for comedy, more than her. "What would he have us do?" Her brows came together, and she lowered her cup to her lips.</p>
<p>"Nothing as agreed," Aditi smiled. The outcome of this hearing was clear at the moment it started. Just then, the sound of quick footsteps came from beyond the door, and a mixture of laughter and a yell. Aditi leaned over in her seat and set her cup down. "Girls!" She called, and the footsteps returned, followed by two little faces peeking through the crack she left in the door.</p>
<p>Her eldest granddaughter was the first to come into the room, followed by her younger sister. "Yes, grandma?" Khessa said. Her blouse was bright yellow and made out of soft cotton, and a half sun was stitched to it in even a lighter thread. Her hair was tied high in a ponytail, though slightly undone. She was nine years old, and already so clever. Janai, was three years younger, and never seemed to run out of energy. She was similar to Aditi, their eyes the same color, and her curly hair red like a flame, streaming down her shoulders.</p>
<p>"Come here, sit," she waved at both of them, and the girls ran eagerly to take their places. Janai in Aditi's lap, and Khessa in Kami's. "Have you finished your studies for today?" She stroke Janai's hair, and looked between them.</p>
<p>Khessa nodded. "We had three hours of mathematics, reading, and history." She counted the subjects on her fingers, so bright this one.</p>
<p>Aditi gazed down at Janai, who was moving the cloth of her skirt between her hand. "And have you practiced your letters, Sunshine?" </p>
<p>Janai huffed, as expected. "Yes, but I don't understand why I have to repeat them so many times!" Her little voice rose, and she swung her legs back and forth.</p>
<p>"That's how you learn," Khessa shot at her, and Janai stuck her tongue out in return.</p>
<p>"Now, where is your brother?" Aditi asked to gain her attention.</p>
<p>"Ori's asleep," Janai told her, with such certainty. She was most delighted to have a brother, and fond of him. During the first weeks after he was born, whenever she had an opening she rushed to see where he was, often to find him asleep. She would pick him up from the crib, much to her mother's annoyance, and show him around the castle. "Grandma, I have a question," she rose on the armchair and rested her fingertips high on Aditi's cheeks. "What are those?" She asked.</p>
<p>Aditi caught Kami's eyes, both wearing a wondrous expression on their faces. They laughed. "Those are markings," she said. "They are made from golden paint. They represent our pride, honor, and most importantly, our connection to the Sun."</p>
<p>Janai tilted her head. "But yours don't look very goldy."</p>
<p>"That's because your grandmother needs to renew them," Kami answered for her. It was considered a great honor to paint your markings by yourself, but Aditi sometimes gave up to the luxury of her wife's hands.</p>
<p>Khessa turned to face the royal mage. "Do they never come off?" While Aditi had a single line underneath each one of her eyes, followed by three little triangles, Kami's markings stretched across her cheeks, like sunbeams.</p>
<p>"They do," Kami reassured her. "But only after many weeks."</p>
<p>"Can I have some?" Janai asked, looking like she might run off from her lap and find the nearest container of golden paint. She was as mischievous as a little tiger cub, Aditi decided.</p>
<p>"I'm afraid not, my dear," Aditi placed her hand on the top of her head. "When you are older, you will. In fact, Khessa," she leveled her eyes with her granddaughter. "You can have your own in only a couple of years."</p>
<p>"R-Really?" She glanced aside, and seemed to nearly shrink in her seat. The opposite of her sister, who showed nothing but excitement. "How will I know if I'm ready?"</p>
<p>Aditi smiled, feeling her nerves. "You will feel it," she said, and Khessa nodded in an understanding. When the time would come, she'd sit with Khessa in front of the mirror, and help her learn the most delicate of strokes, with a clear paint that was easier to remove. The first markings showed maturity more than anything, and while they were celebrated in the city, in the castle they were a ceremony. Khessa was a queen to be, and her milestones needed to be shown to all, even if showing them was unpleasant.</p>
<p>Janai jumped from Aditi's lap to the floor. "When I'm older, I'll have dozens of markings!" She said, raising her hands and gazing at them, as if she was imagining all the lines that would decorate them.</p>
<p>Aditi and Kami laughed at her boasting, even Khessa couldn't help but smile at her sister's jokes. "If that is what you want, that is what you'll have," Aditi leaned down to kiss her forehead, and Janai giggled.</p>
<p>Khessa rose as well, and turned to put her empty cup on the table, beneath a round cloth made of lace. "Thank you for the tea," she told both of her grandmothers, and nudged her sister's hand. "Come on Janai, it's nearly time for lunch."</p>
<p>Janai waved them both goodbye, and the two girls left the room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading!<br/><a href="http://queenjanai.tumblr.com/">my tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>